Nikkei scales three-decade high on expanded U.S. stimulus hopes
29/12/2020 03:22
TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
climbed to a three-decade high on Tuesday as investor risk
appetite improved on hopes that the long-awaited U.S. pandemic
relief package would be expanded.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.63% to
27,292.37 by the midday break, having earlier hit its highest
level since August 1990. The index was also on course for its
biggest daily gain in five weeks.
The broader Topix .TOPX gained 1.05% to 1,806.84, hitting
a level unseen since October 2018.
Overnight, major Wall Street indexes notched record highs as
optimism for an economic recovery increased following U.S.
President Donald Trump's signing of a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid
bill. .N
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to meet
Trump's demand for stimulus payments of $2,000 to qualified
Americans, sending the measure on to the Senate for a vote.
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All but four of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded higher, with highly cyclical airlines .IAIRL.T
and land transport .IRAIL.T among the top gainers on the main
bourse.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T and Central Japan
Railway 9022.T , up 3.35 % and 2.83%, respectively.
Among the top percentage gainers in the Nikkei index,
Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd 4506.T jumped 16.24%,
followed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd 7011.T and IHI
Corp 7013.T , up nearly 6% each.
Elsewhere, furniture retailer Nitori Holdings 9843.T rose
1.44% after completing its tender offer for Shimachu Co
8184.T . Shares of Shimachu inched up 0.18%. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2J90CR
The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares rose
1.82%, hitting a one-week high.
(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))